SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - The Augustana Viking men's basketball team fell 71-62 to the Southwest Minnesota State Mustangs on Saturday night inside the Sanford Pentagon. 

The Vikings now sit at 6-6 overall and 2-5 in the NSIC, while the Mustangs move to 7-4, 4-3.

In his second consecutive start, Arhman Lewis scored 16 points to lead AU. Akoi Akoi added 15 points and five rebounds, and Isaac Fink scored 13 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for his sixth career double-double. Jadan Graves scored 12 points to round out the Vikings in double-figures. 

After opening the game with a 7-6 lead, The Vikings fell behind due to a 7-2 SMSU run, giving the Mustangs a 13-9 lead with 14:19 to play in the first half. The Vikings sailed ahead 16-15 following a 7-2 run of their own, as Graves scored five points to help hand AU the lead. 

The VIkings led 23-22 with just under eight minutes to play before the Mustangs charged ahead. A 13-2 run put them ahead 25-25 with 3:23 remaining in the half.

After two and a half minutes of scoreless action, Lewis made a layup to cut the run, and Caden Hinker made a jumper in the final 10 seconds to cut the AU deficit to 35-29 into the break. Graves and Lewis combined for 19 points, while Fink collected six rebounds in the first half to help the Vikings hang around. 

The first six points of the second half went to the Mustangs, giving them a 41-29 advantage. That lead hung around double digits before Akoi and Brayson Laube each knocked down a pair of free throws to bring them within 50-44 with 12:41 to play.

The Mustangs would go one of two from the free throw line, but Fink hit a jumper from the wing to get within five at 51-46 with 10:58 left. A 5-0 run put the Mustangs back ahead by double digits, but a Lewis three pointer ended the run and made the score 56-49 in favor of SMSU. 

The Mustangs closed out the final 10 minutes, never leading by less than six points, when Graves hit a jumper at the 3:07 mark to bring the Vikings within 64-58. SMSU outscored AU 7-4 in the last two minutes to bring the game to its final score. 

The Vikings return to the floor in two weeks, welcoming Briar Cliff to the Elmen Center on Dec. 30th. Tip-off is slated for 3:30 p.m.